Busman's Holiday
by Funky In Fishnet
Summary: While Max recovers from his gunshot wound in hospital, Lori visits him. They know how they can help H50. H50 doesn't have to know about it though.


_**Disclaimer**: I own nothing._

_**Author Notes:** Takes place after the season two finale 'Ua Hala'. The bit of Lori's backstory that Max mentions is entirely made-up by me. The saying 'a busman's holiday' is an old British slang phrase for going on holiday but actually working whilst you're there. It seemed more than appropriate ;) _

* * *

Several days after Max was shot and rushed to hospital, Lori visited him there. She wore a pale yellow wide-brimmed hat that shaded her face and a simple sleek sundress. The style was not her own but it suited her. Her hair was dyed a deep russet red. In short, she looked suitably unlike herself. Max smiled at her without pain. Lori smiled widely back, bending down to kiss the corner of his mouth. It was the pleasantest sensation that Max had experienced for quite some time.

He had missed Lori's company. They had last seen each other a couple of months ago. The circumstances now were less than ideal.

"It is good to see you."

"You too." Lori's tone became both playful and highly reproachful. "You're not supposed to get shot, Max."

"My apologies."

Lori nodded and sat close to him on the bed. She was carrying several files under her arm. Ah.

"Your shooter's dead, but Delano's out there and you're still a target."

Lori angled her purse as she spoke so that Max could see her gun nestled in its depths, alongside a simple electronic distorter which would prevent any bugging devices no doubt secreted in his room from recording anything during her visit. From the way she was sitting, she also had a firearm hidden somewhere on her left side. She was highly prepared. Max had seen her excellent gun range scores and had witnessed her awareness out in the field. There was no other that he would rather have protecting him.

"You will be a tremendous security officer."

Lori smiled. "It's good to show range in my job."

Her hand brushed against his. It was a warm comfort that he held onto. Joe White had been his only regular visitor and had brought news about H50's currently damaged state. Delano had caused considerable trouble and devastation. Max had found himself thinking that he would quite like to cause the man a painful demise. He was sure that he could do so and leave no evidence behind. Lori would assist him of course. She knew what was happening. As soon as he had been given access to a laptop, Max had sent a coded email to a rarely-used account, impenetrable to all but her.

Lori stacked the files in Max's bedside locker and slipped the key under his pillow. "For Steve, when he gets here."

"Shelburne?"

"Some. I'm still working on it. Luka and Sam are covering your ME shifts. They'll keep on covering them so that you can take an early vacation."

Max almost started to speak against that, because the taskforce needed him during this difficult time. They needed all the help and friends that they could get and he was the best Medical Examiner on the island. But in Washington – where Lori worked now and where he'd planned to vacation in three months – he and Lori could make different but very significant progress. There were great resources and contacts there which were all free of Wo Fat's influence, as well as some new important answers that Lori had evidently already started to uncover. Max could see that he and Lori could solve many of H50's problems in Washington - perhaps they could even get ahead of Wo Fat and Delano in information gathering and manipulation - and they could be a safe back-up partnership too, just in case fresh eyes and reinforcements were later needed in Hawaii. They were a highly commendable team – she profiled the living whilst he profiled the dead. Their absence could also make H50 appear weak so that their enemies would underestimate them. H50 were very good at exceeding expectations.

"I want to help Grace," Lori added.

Max nodded. Lori knew the difficulty of growing up in two separate households, both parents desperate with love to hold onto her. Grace Williams needed assistance during this time. Like Commander McGarrett, Detective Williams had a tendency to believe that he could and should deal with his personal problems alone. Lori and Max disagreed, and so extremely covertly helped their oblivious friends whenever it was necessary. Now was necessary.

A vacation could also help heal his injuries. It was an excellent idea. Lori squeezed his hand and sat with him for a while, reading Beowulf aloud from a volume produced out of her purse. Her voice had always possessed a soothing quality. It matched her presence. Max rolled into comfortable restful sleep. He dreamed of dragons.

* * *

Later that week, Commander McGarrett visited. He appeared tired and weighed-down. Talking to his mother formerly believed dead, and finding out that so much of his childhood and indeed his adult life was a lie, was no doubt exhausting. Rebuilding the facts as he knew them in his mind would be taxing for some time to come.

"Commander McGarrett, thank you for the card."

Commander McGarrett smiled genuinely and moved closer. "It's good to see you looking well, Max."

"The doctors assure me that I will be healthy enough to leave in several days."

Commander McGarrett nodded, then his nostrils flared and he began to frown. His senses, so finely honed by his SEAL training, had picked up something unexpected. The cherry body scrub that Lori favored perhaps, mixed in with the unique scent of her body chemistry. Indeed, Commander McGarrett's gaze was now on Max, his entire expression eloquently and silently asking a question. Max silently indicated his bedside locker and held out the key.

Commander McGarrett continued to frown but he retrieved the locker's contents and began skimming through them. He looked increasingly confused but he didn't say anything. Surely he was aware of the likelihood that Max's hospital room had been bugged, probably by more than one interested party. Delano would know of Commander McGarrett's loyalty to his team, that he would therefore visit Max at least once. Perhaps Wo Fat, possessing long metaphorical arms from prison, would want information on how to get his hands on Commander McGarrett's mother. Max was adept enough to read these possibilities and to play his part.

Commander McGarrett swallowed down all the words that he obviously wished to say and said instead. "Thank you, Max. I'll take care of this."

"Thank you. Please hold onto them while I am on vacation." That got the Commander's attention. "I will be away for several weeks. There are many sights to see."

Commander McGarrett smiled slightly. His expression smoothed out somewhat, but the air of disbelief and the need to know remained. Max did not supply any answers.

"Yeah, I've heard. Take care of yourself."

"Of course. I will have excellent security."

The Commander left, deeply distracted by Lori's paperwork. Max silently counted to sixty, then retrieved a bag from under his bed. Lori had dropped it off earlier. In the lining was a burn phone. He texted her a message – he was going to leave shortly. Kamekona would provide a slightly detailed and entirely untrue explanation if the team worried about his sudden departure. Secrecy was essential. Wo Fat's contacts were everywhere. Max and Lori had never forgotten what Governor Pat Jameson had done and what had subsequently happened to her.

In Washington, Max and Lori could be of the most use. There, they could not be used against H50. Max eased out of bed and began to dress in the clothes stored for him in the bag. Everything he needed for tonight's trip was in there. Lori was thorough. She would arrive at the hospital's rear entrance very soon, no doubt with her hair dyed a new color. He hoped that she would be wearing turquoise. They had work to do.

_-the end_


End file.
